Newspapers were a washed recently with the story of the revocation of over 100 mining licenses issued to miners for the exploration and exploitation of various minerals all over the country. Revocation of licenses is a very sensitive issue and like a wild fire if not quickly put out, could ravage and destroy many things. This is because; mining licenses is next in economic value to oil block licenses in our economic scale of preference.
Perhaps the furore could not have generated much heat had the story correctly read that licenses have been recalled in order to be revalidated as many mining licenses being brandished today by both genuine miners and speculators are defective in law. This is because; the licenses were issued by an authority not recognised in law to do so.

An international dimension was added to the brouhaha when the vice president of World Bank our Oby Ezekwesili, who was also a former minister of solid minerals, was in the country to add her voice to the revocation of the licences with a warning that things may not be the same for the country again should the revocation stands. To say the least, Ezekwesili’s angle to the issue was very unfriendly, undiplomatic and was an attempt to cry more than the bereaved over a non-issue.

The World Bank VP who also carried out various educational reforms especially the merger of polytechnics with universities and privatization of unity schools said nothing on her reforms now sent to cleaners but on mining – a delicate and sensitive issue which if we could succeed and get our bearings right can wipe away poverty and unemployment in virtually every community in this country. Ezekwesili who was in the country on energy related issue was virtually on roof tops saying that the revocation had sent wrong signals to the international community portraying Nigeria as a country with inconsistent mining law and policy. It is expected that a diplomat like her ought to have imbibed the etiquette of cautious comment and not bedlam and brimstone if there is no hidden agenda. She could have even promised to find out if the story was correct when confronted by journalists, instead of throwing missiles at the leadership of her former ministry.

Some of us with strong passion for mining activities are worried about the ugly development, approached the minister of mines and steel development Chief Sarafa Tunji Isola if indeed there were revocation of mining titles. Although the minister was a bit worried about the misrepresentation, but he was again determined to forge ahead with all seriousness and power vested in him to sanitise the mining industry of all illegalities. He described the genesis of the entire issue to an improperly laid foundation and that anything built on quicksand must of necessity collapse.

The minister said the Nigerian minerals and Mining Act of 2007 which came into effect on the 29th of March, 2007 expressly stated as follows in its section 5)1) and 2 (a-c) that "5(1) There should be established within six months of the coming into effect of this Act a mining cadastre office with the responsibility for the administration of mineral titles and the maintenance of the cadastral register while section 2 said that "The mining cadastre office shall (a) be a corporate body with perpetual succession with a common seal (b) may sued and be sued in its corporate name, and (c) may acquire, hold and dispose of property, whether moveable or immovable.

Chief Isola said that because the Mining Cadastre Office (MCO) as at date has no legal backing, he constituted a Top Management Team (TMT) of the ministry to assist him in finding a way forward since anything built on nothing is nothing. The TMT comprised of the Acting Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Mr. Patrick Iwara, the Director-General MCO Professor I. Garba, the Director of Mining, Engr. Sheik Goni, the Legal Adviser, Mrs. Ekpo, the Acting Director Mines Environment Compliance Department Dr. (Mrs) I. Ekeh, the acting provost of the Nigerian Institute of Mining, Miss R. Ndong and Acting Managing Director of Nigerian Coal Corporation (NCC) Mr. D. Okafor.

The minister said that the TMT at its meeting of September 25, 2007, unanimously recommended that "because of the absence of a legislation establishing the cadastre office, that the MCO lacks the legal capacity to issue licences in its name, and that all licences so far issued in its name are therefore legally defective, unless the defect is cured and that all actions deriving therefrom by the MCO in the performance of its functions are consequently illegal, unless the authority from which it derives it power for now legalises it."

He said further that the committee also suggested to him the following (i) Approval of the issuance of all titles and licences on the recommendation of the MCO (ii) that the defects on the already issued titles can be cured by the recall of the already issued certificates from all title holders and their re-issue under the approval of the honourable minister and (iii) that the MCO shall continue to function as a department of the ministry until created by an Act of the National Assembly. That as a matter of urgency, the bill establishing the MCO should be articulated and presented to the National Assembly.

The committee also recommended that control departments should not later than two weeks from today (26th September, 2007) articulate their requirements from licenses for production into a single document for distribution, and that, additional conditions for transfer of licences and other relevant sections of the mineral title guidelines should be reviewed from time to time as the need arises to reduce speculation of titles.

Chief Isola said that he followed the path recommended by the TMT that "notwithstanding the defects of the MCT, the suspension of licences already issued will send negative signals to local and foreign investors and other stakeholders and therefore there should be no suspension or revocation of license but that the measure suggested for curing the defects (i.e. recall of the already issued certificates and their re-issue under the approval of the honourable minister) should be immediately implemented.

He said this is what is being carried out to the letters, but again being misinterpreted by either those having licences for speculative purpose and not genuine miners or those that are outrightly enemy of this country or anything good for the country.

The minister wondered why there should be any furore when government wants to correct the anomaly in the issuance of titles given out for 25 years by someone not entitled to do so, and issuance of leases without any submission of environmental protection report, community development agreement and mining development plan or policy. Fuming, Chief Isola said, "this is not a banana republic where anything goes, this country is for decent people, it is for those who must adhere to ethics and principles of law and order and no matter how long an illegality has gone, it is still an illegality which has to be corrected."

The bottom line to this ugly crisis is that some people feeding fat on any confusion in the ministry of mines and steel are at work again and they are powerful speculations within and outside the ministry.

They have been benefiting from the high turn out of ministers in that ministry as we’ve had 12 ministers in the nine years old ministry, and that is why mines development had been tottering, one step forward, and two steps backwards.

The Yar’Adua administration had viewed lots of agreements considered sealed and delivered and correcting defects in the mining titles cannot overturn the apple cart. This is the time for Chief Isola to look inward and fish out the black sheep in the ministry and push them out or else, that ministry will not move forward.